Artist Round Table and Book Launch

Artist Round Table and Book Launch
Local Artists gather to discuss Contemporary Connections with Inuit Art

WINNIPEG: February 7, 2014-The Winnipeg Art Gallery will host a round table with Paul Butler, Curator of Contemporary Art, along with local artists Simon Hughes, Sylvia Matas and Krisjanis Kaktins-Gorsline for a Q&A conversation about their work as well as the launch of the Looking Up: Contemporary Connections with Inuit Art exhibition catalogue. The event will take place at the WAG on February 16, at 2pm.

Looking Up explores the influence that the Winnipeg Art Gallery’s Inuit Art collection has had on Winnipeg’s art community over the past 40 years.

“The Looking Up catalogue situates itself into the continuing study and appreciation of Inuit art. Local artists have made thoughtful selections of Inuit art, and, combined with their own inspiring creativity, have challenged how we look at both Inuit art and art in general,” says Stephen Borys, Director & CEO of the WAG.

The first significant exhibition of Inuit art organized by the WAG occurred in 1964. Since then, the WAG has presented over one hundred forty exhibitions of Inuit art and published more than forty catalogues on the subject, making the WAG a leader in the study and presentation of this discipline, while providing rich and significant research to the field.

“This catalogue is my first publication since taking the position as the WAG's Curator of Contemporary Art so I'm extremely proud and excited to launch it,” says Paul Butler. “I am grateful to all the Winnipeg artists featured in the exhibition and catalogue for sharing their thoughtful observations, beliefs and experiences that are reflected in Looking Up.”

The WAG is currently undergoing a campaign towards building its much anticipated Inuit Art Centre, the first of its kind to focus solely on Inuit Art and culture. With the addition of the Centre, the WAG will be in the position to concentrate its focus equally on both Inuit and contemporary art.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery is a cultural advocate – a lens and forum – helping people see and experience more through art. Playing a vital role in the community, engaging and enriching people of all ages and backgrounds through art and culture, the Winnipeg Art Gallery thrives as a creative, innovative, and accessible place for learning, discovery and inspiration.